Ed Kalecki

and the statement on opening was quickly repeated by President Trump.

However, Iranian media later reported that ships and cargoes linked to hostile countries would not be allowed through, that any transits must be arranged with its authorities, and that it would close the strait if the U.S.

blockade of its own shipping continues.

American Airlines says it's not engaged with or interested in any discussions regarding a merger with rival United Airlines, dampening the prospect of a tie-up that could reshape the industry.

Bloomberg reported earlier this week that United CEO Scott Kirby had floated the possible combination directly to President Trump in February.

American signaled that such a merger would be a bad deal in a statement late Friday, which stressed a combination with United Airlines.

would be negative for competition and for consumers.

The White House says a meeting Friday with Anthropic CEO Dario Amadei was productive and constructive, as the Trump administration seeks wider access to the company's powerful new Mythos artificial intelligence model.

The White House said opportunities for collaboration and for addressing the challenges from AI were discussed, and that it plans to continue that dialogue with Anthropic and other AI companies.

The Friday discussions could set the stage for major federal agencies to eventually start using Mythos.

A third week of gains for the U.S.

stock market amid optimism that the Iran war is poised to end.

We get that story from Bloomberg's Charlie Pellett.

President Trump's approval has declined in the last month, and Cliff Young, U.S.

public affairs chairman for the polling firm Ipsos, says even if it approves as the war subsides, it's not likely to recover to its best level.

Cliff Young on Bloomberg's balance of power.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he is cautious about the need to lower interest rates in the near term due to the energy shock triggered by war in Iran and warned the risk of a prolonged impact on inflation due to the conflict.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller.

Reuters is reporting Meta intends to conduct a wave of layoffs on May 20th, affecting about 10% of its global workforce, with more coming later.

Meta will lay off close to 8,000 employees in that initial round.